


Maybe We’ll Make It Out Alive

by sperrywink



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Losers (Comic)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Life Lessons, Poor Life Choices, Spoilers, optimistic in the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-05 04:11:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3105173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sperrywink/pseuds/sperrywink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Jake knew exactly what bad life choices he had made that ended up with him getting lectured by Tony Stark in a limo, and he was ashamed of them. He had always thought he would stun Tony Stark with his brilliance, not disappoint him with his drunken dumb-assery.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Maybe We’ll Make It Out Alive

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sceaterian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sceaterian/gifts).



> This ended up being the story I needed to tell about these two. Hopefully it is enjoyable to you, sceaterian!

Jake opened his eyes to only be pinned in place by the fathomless, dark brown gaze of Tony Stark. He pressed a little too hard with the hand holding Tony’s tuxedo handkerchief wrapped around ice to the swelling over his right eye, and hissed.

Tony snorted. He said, “You know when I picked you up in that bar, I thought you would be dumb as an ox, but still a nice little diversion . You should have warned me about your Knight in Shining Armor Act.”

“It’s not my fault those bikers were bothering that girl. And hey, I’m not dumb!” Jake knew exactly what bad life choices he had made that ended up with him getting lectured by Tony Stark in a limo, and he was ashamed of them. He had always thought he would stun Tony Stark with his brilliance, not disappoint him with his drunken dumb-assery.

“That remains to be seen, and is entirely beside the point. Pepper’s going to kill me for all the paparazzi photos of me in a fight with bikers.”

Jake might still be a little bit drunk because he found himself pouting, and saying, “You didn’t have to back me up. I could have taken them.”

“All six of them, really?” Tony snorted again.

“I’ll have you know I was Special Forces!”

“Yeah, and what are you now?”

“Not dead.” Suddenly tired and feeling like there were razorblades in his chest, Jake closed his eyes. Every breath hurt. It had been months since everything with Max came to a head and Cougar, well, Jake wasn’t going to think about him, not _ever_.

Unfortunately, Tony was deceptively perceptive. He asked, “So who were you just thinking of? Because it wasn’t me. Which, hey, I’m insulted. I’m the guy who picked you up, and backed you up against bikers. You should be thanking me right about now. Preferably with a blowjob.”

Now it was Jake’s turn to snort. Tony was a trip, but he was right. Even after months of drowning his sorrows in alcohol, he couldn’t forget. He said, “Just a self-sacrificing bastard.”

An inscrutable look passed over Tony’s face. “Yeah, I knew one of those too.” He took his own big gulp of liquor, and closed his eyes.

Jake couldn’t keep his mouth shut, despite the obvious emotion on Tony’s face. “You’re Iron Man, you _are_ one.”

Tony opened his eyes, and again his gaze pierced Jake like a laser. He could see why Tony was so magnetic to people. It felt like there was no other moment as tangible in Jake’s life as this one staring at Tony, and having him stare back. “I wasn’t. Not until I met Yinsen.”

“Yinsen?”

“A tale for, oh, _never_.”

At the naked look on Tony’s face, Jake nodded. “Now that is the smartest thing you’ve said.” He didn’t think he would ever be able to talk about Cougar again. Even trying to say his name made him feel like his tongue and lips were made of sandpaper. Everything grated, and tore at his throat.

Tony clinked his glass against the one in Jake’s left hand, and Jake looked down in surprise. He had forgotten that Tony had poured him a drink when they scrambled into the limo with bikers on their heels. He lifted it in toast, and took his own big gulp. It was the smoothest scotch he had ever tasted, and his eyebrows rose in surprise, which of course made his eye throb. He hissed in pain, and heard Tony mutter about Pepper and lawsuits again.

Louder, Tony said, “So if blowjobs are off the table, is there somewhere we could drop you off? Home? Hotel?”

Jake blinked to get his brain working, and out of the rut of Max, Cougar, death, destruction, and desolation that was its usual track these days. “Where are we?”

“Just outside the city limits.”

Jake shrugged kind of awkwardly. “No, I mean I assume I’m in America, but what state?”

Tony sighed heavily, and put a hand over his eyes. “Oh, boy. Pepper is so going to kill me.”

Feeling guilty, Jake said, “Don’t worry. Just drop me off at the nearest hotel. I’ll get a room.” He put down his glass of alcohol, and began patting his pockets hoping for a wallet or a phone, something.

“Right, because Pepper won’t kill me even harder when it turns out the guy I saved from bikers dies homeless on the streets of L.A.”

That slid through the fog in Jake’s brain like a sharp knife. He found himself furious, and leaned forward to poke Tony in the chest, which made a tinging sound, but he was too mad to pay attention to it. “I might be a bastard, but not enough of one to die on the people who love me!” Tony held out his hands in surrender, but Jake could tell Tony was still just humoring him. Defiantly, Jake said, “I’ve got a home.”

Now Tony seemed interested again. “Yeah? Where?”

Jake’s energy dissipated as quickly as it came, the alcohol and head injury too much for him to remain intense for long, plus he knew how well his answer would go over. So now it was Jake’s turn to mutter. “New Hampshire.”

“Could you be more inconvenient?” Tony leaned forward and rapped on the glass. It slide down and Tony said, “Take us home, Happy!”

Happy cheerfully replied, “Sure thing, boss,” and the glass slid back up.

Jake said, “I told you to take me to a hotel.”

“Yeah, no, I’m not having your death on my conscious, or Pepper’s, more importantly. You can spend the night, stop bleeding over everything, and then we’ll put you on a plane tomorrow.”

Jake crossed his arms huffily, feeling the ice melt under his arm from the handkerchief, but didn’t argue. He hadn’t found a wallet, and he couldn’t even remember what identity he was using right now with the way his head was pounding. He was a mess, and he could reluctantly see Tony’s point.

The limo eventually came to a stop, but before Jake could open the door, it was being opened by Happy, the driver. 

He gave Happy a small smile in thanks, and got a beaming grin in return. It was a little disconcerting.

Happy asked, “Anything else tonight, boss?”

“No thanks, Happy. That’ll be all.”

They walked into an expansive, white mansion, Jake’s eyes ranging over everything. Feeling suddenly like he was imposing, he awkwardly said, “If you still wanted that blowjob…”

Tony looked at him in disbelief, and Jake felt even more awkward. More kindly than he probably deserved, Tony patted him on the arm. “I don’t do pity fucks, particularly if I don’t know who the pity is for, me or you. Come on, let me show you to your room.”

After Tony showed him to a guest room with a connected bathroom, he disappeared. Jake sighed, and went into the bathroom to check out his face. It was a mess, to say the least. There was blood drying down the side, his eye was swollen like a baseball, and he had a cut near his hairline. No wonder Tony didn’t want a blowjob or anything else, Jake looked like a piece of raw meat. 

He dropped the handkerchief and ice into the sink, and cleaned up as well as he could. After stripping down to his underwear, he lay down on the bed. He was out like a light in seconds. He finally woke up with a groan a little after noon the next day. His face was still throbbing, and now his hands, arms, and back also burned like hell. He forgot what getting into a bar fight felt like afterwards. 

He cleaned up again, and got dressed in his clothes, which had miraculously been washed and smelled fresh like a summer’s day. It was more than a little disconcerting.

He found Tony in the kitchen staring at the coffee maker like it held the secrets to the world. Jake said, “Hey.”

Tony slanted a glance over at him, but right then the coffee maker steamed and began dripping coffee, which recaptured his attention. He had a mug under the stream, and switched it for the coffee pot once the mug was mostly full. He heaved a satisfied sigh after taking the first large gulp. Finally, Tony turned his attention back to Jake, and said, “So, Jake Jensen, apparently you aren’t as dumb as an ox.”

Stunned, Jake asked, “How do you know who I am?” He was somewhat confident he hadn’t given his last name last night, but parts of it were still fuzzy, so he couldn’t be sure.

“I have my ways. Now while your self-destructive urges make more sense given recent events in the super-secret spy club, I somehow feel the need to point out that this isn’t what your friend would want for you.”

Defensive, Jake asked, “What do you know?”

“Like I said, I knew a self-sacrificing bastard too.”

Suddenly feeling that connection that had kept him mesmerized last night, in understanding he said, “Yinsen.” Tony nodded seriously. Jake slumped in defeat. He asked, “How do you keep going?”

“You make every day worth their sacrifice.”

Jake snorted, and canted a sly look at Tony. “Not all of us can be Iron Man, and save the world on a daily basis.”

Tony preened, but in a still serious tone of voice he said, “Admittedly that is true. But that isn’t what I’m talking about. Love. Compassion. Kindness. All those squishy things that I avoided before. They’re what matters.”

Jake slumped. “It’s too hard. I can’t even breath half the time.”

“Go home to your family. Start there. It won’t get easier, but it might give you a purpose. You can’t erase it, but you can use it.”

“I…okay.” Jake agreed mostly because he knew drinking himself into oblivion wasn’t working, and he wanted to see his sister’s and his niece’s faces again. He knew it was selfish when he was such a wreck, but he needed them. 

In a short amount of time Jake found his ID, Tony handed him an airplane ticket, and Happy was ready to drive him to LAX. Tony didn’t do anything cheesy like hand over a business card or offer to exchange numbers. He just said, “When you’re ready to join us self-sacrificing bastards, contact me.”

From his smirk he obviously anticipated Jake hacking his systems, and was looking forward to it. Jake looked at him in surprise. He thought Tony would be glad to see the back of him.

Tony shrugged. “I seem to be acquiring self-sacrificing bastards. I think you’d fit right in.”

Jake smiled his first real smile in months. “Then I will.”


End file.
